Douglas County COVID-19 Response Team - Daily Local Update - April 26, 2020 (Photo) - 04/26/20
DOUGLAS COUNTY COVID-19 RESPONSE TEAM - DAILY LOCAL UPDATE
JOINT INFORMATION CENTER PRESS RELEASE - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - April 26, 2020
(Douglas County, Ore.) Most Americans are spending more and more time online these days. Just like you, scammers are doing the same. They have created campaigns to exploit the fear and confusion around COVID-19. Don’t fall for it! Google recently reported that they saw more than 18 million daily malware and phishing emails related to COVID-19 during the second week of April. It’s a sign that scammers have heightened their game once again and are trying to exploit the COVID-19 crisis. The 18 million is on top of the more than 240 million daily spam coronavirus messages they recorded. The attacks and scams attempt to use both fear and the promise of monetary gain to create a sense of urgency in order to entice users to respond. It is the same old game, just with a new subject line.
The scams include impersonating government or nonprofit organizations like the CDC and Food Pantries, to try to seek donations or trick users into downloading malware. Or they pretend to be from the IRS with information about government stimulus payments. Or the scammer says they are associated with your employer and are offering added bonus incentives to employees.
Google said they have upped their game by targeting their artificial intelligence-powered protections filter at these threats. We hope you do the same, up your defenses and game. Make sure you apply these cautions:
- Don’t click links in emails you weren’t expecting
- Report suspicious and phishing emails to the Oregon Attorney General or the FBI.
- If it sounds too good to be true, it is probably fake.
- Do your homework and check it out before you click or respond.
- Know who you are emailing or talking to. If it doesn’t feel right, it is probably a scam.
- Make sure the URL is legitimate before providing any information. Scammers try to closely mimic the URL address or logo. Make sure you look for any differences.
- Know that banks, the IRS or government agencies never contact you for unsolicited personal information.
Local COVID-19 Test Results
As of 12:00 pm, April 26, 2020, there are no new cases of COVID-19 in Douglas County. The total number of positives in Douglas County remains at twenty-three. * Of the twenty-three, fourteen have recovered. There have been zero deaths and 891 negative tests for COVID-19 in the county. Two of the twenty-three people that have tested positive are still hospitalized in different hospitals. Douglas Public Health Network continues their epidemiologic investigations, identifying individuals who may have had close contact with individuals that have tested positive for COVID-19 and advising quarantine. Fourteen of the individuals who tested positive earlier have now recovered. DPHN defines recovery as an end to all symptoms after a positive test for COVID-19.
Get Tested
If you are having symptoms of COVID-19 including cough, fever, shortness of breath, muscle aches and pains, diarrhea, sore throat or decreased sense of smell and taste, talk to your health care provider about being tested for COVID-19. Given the growing availability of commercial labs and the improving availability of testing supplies and PPE DPHN has revised their guidelines to providers on testing. DPHN has sent out communications to the local health care community alerting them of the increased availability of testing for their patients. DPHN also announced Wednesday that Quest labs is now offering the IgG antibody test for COVID-19 locally. Both tests must be ordered by a health care provider and currently, testing without a provider order is not yet available.
The first drive thru testing site was piloted in the county on March 17, 2020, there have been 370 people tested in the drive through clinics alone, additional testing continues in hospitals, urgent cares and clinics simultaneously. The drive through clinics are led by DPHN, in conjunction with partner agencies including; Douglas County COVID-19 Response Team, Douglas County Board of Commissioners, Douglas County Sheriff’s Office, Douglas County Public Works, local volunteers and local health professionals.
Oregon COVID-19 Case Update
Oregon Health Authority reports new cases once a day on its website at www.healthoregon.org/coronavirus. The OregonHealth Authority is also releasing the daily situation status report, which is produced jointly with Oregon Office of Emergency Management. It details the overall picture of the COVID-19 outbreak within the state and the response across government agencies. Read more here about the daily situation status report.
$13.2 Billion in Federal Emergency Relief Available to Support K-12 Education
State and local education agencies are eligible to receive more than $13.2 billion in newly available emergency relief funds to support continued learning for K-12 students whose education has been disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos announced Thursday.
The funding was authorized under the CARES Act, which was signed by President Trump last month. Education leaders will be able to use funds from the Elementary and Secondary School Education Relief Fund (ESSER Fund) for immediate needs such as distance-learning tools, planning for the coming school year and ensuring student health and safety, according to the Department of Education.
ESSER funds are intended to be flexible, as long as they are used in ways that comply with federal education laws. State education agencies must allocate 90 percent of ESSER funds to local education agencies. Oregon is eligible to receive $121 million of that funding, according to a state-by-state breakdown. State education agencies have until July 1 to apply for ESSER funds.
The Department of Education’s COVID-19 page contains links for parents, such as a section on “at-home activities,” as well as resources for students, educators and local leaders.
State Launches New Phase of COVID-19 Outreach, Education
A new statewide campaign called “Safe + Strong” is focusing on connecting at-risk Oregonians with the information, tools and resources they need to stay healthy during the COVID-19 pandemic. The new program, launched Thursday by the Oregon Health Authority (OHA), offers community-centered outreach in 12 languages. The outreach targets people who are facing economic and other barriers to keeping themselves and their families safe – such as lack of housing, not enough money to stock up on groceries, an inability to work remotely, dependence on a caregiver and those with chronic medical conditions. The target audiences include immigrants and refugees, people of color, non-English speakers, older Oregonians, migrant and seasonal farm workers, and hourly-wage essential workers. The governor’s office and OHA will be working with community leaders and organizations representing underserved groups. The “Safe + Strong” website highlights resources related to food, rental assistance, unemployment, Oregon Health plan and other needs. The campaign also includes a digital, radio and print campaign to increase awareness about the website.
There’s a lot you and your kids can learn from the backyard – especially now that we have time to quiet down, listen and observe. Today’s tip is to create a nature journal to chronicle all of the interesting things you see in your yard. Sit back and watch, and get to know the critters that live there or come to visit – squirrels, birds, spiders, etc. Spring has sprung, and it’s also a great time to watch flowers bloom and plant life come alive. Write down your observations – and draw pictures, if you’re so inclined. It’s amazing how interesting the little things become if we truly pay attention to them! This site has instructions on how to make a nature journal with items lying around the house.
Give Blood and Help Your Community
Blood supplies are seriously low and leaving home to donate blood is considered a lifesaving need. If you are healthy and feeling well, then giving blood is a safe and great way to help your community. The Red Cross has implemented sanitizing and social distancing policies to ensure you’re safe while making a lifesaving donation. Anyone interested in donating must make an appointment by visiting www.redcrossblood.org or calling (800) 733-2767.
4/27/2020 9:00 am - 2:00 pm South Umpqua High School, Myrtle Creek(Sponsored Elks Lodge#1943)
4/27/2020 1:00 pm – 6:30 pm Roseburg Blood Donation Ctr, 1176 NW Garden Valley Blvd., Roseburg
4/28/2020 10:00 am - 03:30 pm Roseburg YMCA of Douglas County (Sponsored by UCC)
4/29/2020 10:00 pm - 03:00 pm Glendale High School, Glendale (Sponsored by Special People's Depot)
4/29/2020 10:30 am - 03:30 pm South River Community Health Center, Winston
4/30/2020 9:00 am - 2:00 pm North Bend High School, North Bend
5/01/2020 1:00 pm – 6:30 pm Roseburg Blood Donation Ctr, 1176 NW Garden Valley Blvd., Roseburg
5/01/2020 10:30 am - 04:00 pm Sutherlin Community Center, Sutherlin
Stay Informed with the Accurate Information
Your Douglas County Board of Commissioners, Douglas County Public Health Officer, Dr. Robert Dannenhoffer and the Douglas County COVID-19 Response Team have been working hard to cooperatively provide accurate and timely information and a response to Douglas County residents. If you have questions about resources available, call the COVID-19 hotline, staffed by local volunteers at (541) 464-6550. Stay up to date on COVID-19 in Douglas County on the DPHN website at www.douglaspublichealthnetwork.org. Find additional information on state, federal and international COVID-19 response from the following websites: Oregon Health Authority, Centers for Disease Control, World Health Organization and by calling or logging onto 211Info.
*Local case data includes all tests done in the county, and are not exclusive to DPHN testing. Further, reporting numbers are accurate as of time listed on this release. These numbers may not match other organizations, who report at different times of the day.
